Circuit control for electric display signs and the like



L. H. OAKES.

CIRCUITCONTROL FOR ELEQTRIC DISPLAY SIGNS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 12, 1919.

1,40 ,307, Patented Feb. 28, 1922.

2 Sl lEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR. Lucm/v ,6. 04x55.

A TTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LUCIAN R. OAKES, OF TIPTON, INDIANA.

Application filed. April 12, 1919.

I '0 all whom it mag/concern I Be it known that I, LUCIAN R. OAKES, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Tipton, county ofTipton, and State of Indiana, have invented a certain new and usefulCircuitControl for Electric Display Signs and the like; and I dov herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which likenumerals refer to like parts.

This invention relates to'a circuit control for electric display signsand the like, and the prime feature of the invention is the employmentof means for shifting the circuit controlling mechanism from one shuntcircuit to another by contraction and expansion of parts of thecontrolling mechanism, thus obviating the necessity of employing a motoror other devicefor performing this operation.

One feature of the invention is the provision of thermallyexpansible'means for operating the switch me'chanism'and of electricalmeans controllingth'e" thermally expansible means, whereby the frequencyof expanding and contracting the thermally expansible means may bevaried.

A further feature of the invention is the particular switchmechanismincluding electrically energized thermally expansible meanssuch that the contraction and expansion thereof will operate the switchto shift the current from one shunt circuit to another shunt circuit.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter more fully set forthand pointed out in the accompanying specification.

In the accompanying drawings, which are made a part of this application,Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the circuit controlling means asseen on line 11 Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the circuitcontrolling mechanism with the front portion of the casing thereforremoved. Fig. 3 is a detail elevation of the upper end of thecontrolling mechanism when operated to a position opposite that shown inFigs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a detail front elevation thereof. Fig. 5 is anelevation of the lower portion of the circuit controlling mechanismshowing a rheostat for varying the degree of operation of the device.Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the operating parts of the controllingmechanism.

Referring to the drawings, in which simi- Specification of LettersPatent.

' lar Patented Feb. 28, 1922.

Serial No. 289,599.

reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the severalnews. 1 indicates a housing, preferably constructed of metal in whichthe circuit con trolling mechanism is located, and this housing may bemade in any preferred shape or design, as it forms no part of theinvention, and is merely to serve as a protection for the controllingmechanism.

Mounted within the housing 1, in any suitable manner, is an insulatingblock 2,

through which transversely extends a contact point 3, said block havingan L-shaped bracket 4 mounted thereon through which extends a contactpoint 5, said contact points being in alignment with each other andspaced apart, and also adjustable longitudinally of each other sothatthe gap between said contact points may be varied as desired.Attached at one end to the block 2 is a contact arm 6, the free end ofwhich projects between the adjacent ends of the contact points 3 and 5and cooperates with either for closing a circuit through said contactpoint. The contact arm 6 is connected to a suitable source of electricalenergy through a line wire 7 andthe contact points 3, and 5 each areconnected with circuit wires 8 and 9 respectively, said circuit wires 8and 9, in turn being connected to separate circuits of a display sign orthe like, shown in the diagrammatic view, Fig. 6.

The free end of the contact arm 6 is moved laterally, rocked oroscillated to engage the same with either the contact point 3 or thecontact point 5 by means of the rocking bar 10, which is fixed to apivoted frame 11. The lower end of the rocking bar has a slot 12 thereininto which enters the free end of the contact arm 6, so that when therocking bar 10 is swung back and forth on its pivot the contact arm 6will be oscillated and alternately engage or contact with one of saidcontact points 3 or 5.

The movement of the rocking bar 10 is controlled by a lever 13, thelower end of which is provided with a tongue 14 which enters a slot 15in the upper end of the bar 10, the lever 13 being pivotally attached toparts carried by the block 2 so that it may swing laterally foroperating the rocking bar. The lever 13 is caused to rock on its pivotby pivotally mounting a pendulum 16 to parts carried by the block 2, thepivot point being adjacent the upper end of the pendulum, while thelower end thereof is attached to a coil' spring 17. The opposite end ofthe spring is attached to the lower end portion of the lever 13, thependulum 16 being so mounted that the end thereof to which the coilspring is attached will swing past thecenter of gravity, therebyemploying the tension of the spring for swinging the lever 13 from sideto side to rock the bar 10 which oscillates the contact spring member 6.

The pendulum 16 is provided with a lateral extension 18, preferably atthe pivot end of the pendulum which passes between adjusting screws 19carried by the bifurcated arm portion of a pivoted latch 20. lVhen thelatch is swung upwardly or downwardly on its pivot, the pendulum 16 willbe rocked on its pivot for operating the lever 13 and the partsassociated therewith to close the respective circuits alternatelythrough the contacts 3 and 5.

The latch 20 is swung upwardly by attaching a rod 21 thereto whichprojects upwardly through a bracket 22 and is provided with a spring 23surrounding parts of the rod 21 between the bracket 22 and an adjustingnut 24 threaded on to the rod, the compression of the spring 23 beingsuch as to raise the latch 20, which operation swings the pendulum 16 tothe left, or to the position shown in Fig. 4. This movement operates thelever 13 and the rocking bar 10 to move the contact arm 6 intoengagement with the contact point 3.

The downward movement of the-latch 20 is controlled by the contractionof the resistance wires 25, which are wound around insulating spools 26adjacent the top and bottom of the housing 1, while the operation of thespring 23 for lifting the latch 20 is likewise controlled by theexpansion of said resistance wires. That is to say, when the resistancewires are brought into the circuit and sufliciently heated so as toexpand, the

tension spring 23 will raise the latch 20 and shift the cont-act arm 6into engagement with the contact point 3 thereby cutting out theresistance wires. As the resistance wires become cooled they willcontract and consequently they will become shortened, which contractionwill overcome the tension of the spring 23 and swing the latch 20downwardly, thereby again connecting the contact arm 6 with the contactpoint 5 and directing the current through the resistance wires and againheating the same to cause themto exp nd.

By controlling the action of the switch mechanism in this manner, thevarious circuits to the parts of the display sign or the like areintermittently operated, thereby giving a flashing effect to thedisplaysign or intermittently displayditferent features thereon. 7

Any suitable means may be provided for controlling the intervals betweenthe operation of the various circuits of the display sign, but in thepresent instance a rheostat 27 is introduced into the circuit betweenthe contact. point 5 and the resistance wires 25,

the current being conducted from the contact point 5 through a wire 28to the rheostat 27, and from the rheostat to the resistance wire througha wire 29, the resistance wire in turn being connected to the returnline wire 30 through a wire 31. The rheostat 27 is provided with aplurality of contact points 32 with which cooperates a tongue 33, and byturning the tongue in one direction the total resistance will beincreased, and the current correspondingly decreased, thereby retardingthe expansion of the thermal member and securing a slower rate ofoperation of the display sign, while by turning the tongue in theopposite direction the total resistance will be de creased, therebyincreasing current and decreasing the elapsed time between theoperations of the display sign.

In .operation, supposing the parts to be in the position shown in Figs.1 and 2, the current from the line wire 7 will pass through the contactarm 6, the contact point 5, through the wire 9, one section 34 of thedisplay sign and into the line wire 30. The current also passes throughthe wire 28, rhecstat 27, wire 29, resistance wires 25, the wire 31 tothe line wire 30, thereby energizing the resistance wires and heatingthe same to such an extent that they will expand. As soon as the wires25 are expanded sufficiently the spring 23 will throw the latch 20upwardly, thereby operating the pendulum 16 and shifting the upper endof the contact arm 6 to the right and into engagement with the contact3, thus causing the current to pass from the line wire 7 through thecontact arm- 6, the contact point 3, wire 8, through the other section35 of the display sign and into the line wire 30, thus cutting out theresistance wires 25 and permitting said wires to cool and contract sothat when the wires have contracted to a certain degree they will againlower the latch 20 and again move the contact arm into engagement withthe contact point 5. This operation is repeated so long as the currentis pass ing through the main feed line.

It will likewise be seen that as the contact point 3 is attached to onecircuit of the display sign and the contact point 5 is-r attached toanother circuit thereon, a flash ingetfect will result when the switchis intermittently operated or one part of the sign is displayed for apredetermined time and then another part of the sign disp ayed for aprescribed length of time, and the period of time between these changesis regulated through the rheostat 27 It has been customary heretofore touse with said switch member when actuated by said bar means, pivotedmeans for actuating said pendulum means, spring means for moving saidlast mentioned pivoted means in one direction, andelectrically operatedmeans for moving said last mentioned pivoted means in the oppositedirection.

2. A switch mechanism including pendulum means, bar means associatedwith said pendulum means and actuated by the oscillation thereof,a'switch member, a plurality of contacts positioned adjacent each otherand in operative relation to said switch memher and adapted to bealternately associated with said switch member when actuated by said barmeans, pivoted means for actuating said pendulum means, spring means formoving said last mentioned pivoted means in one direction, electricallyoperated means for moving said last mentioned pivoted means in theopposite direction, and means for determining the frequency of saidalternations.

3. A switch mechanism including pendulum means, bar means associatedwith said pendulum means and actuated by the oscillation thereof, aswitch member, a plurality of contacts positioned adjacent each otherand in operative relation to said switch memher and adapted to bealternately associated with said switch member when actuated by said barmeans, pivot means for actuating said pendulum means, spring means formoving said last mentioned pivoted means in one direction, electricallyoperated means for moving said last mentioned pivot means in theopposite direction, and electrical means associated with saidelectrically operated means for determining the frequency of saidalternations.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto atfixed my signature.

LUCIAN R. OAKES.

